VATICAN CITY, NOV 10, 2004 (VIS) - Today's general audience was celebrated in two parts. The first took place in St. Peter's Basilica where the Holy Father addressed the faithful in German and English, following which he went to the Paul VI Hall to meet with other pilgrims.
The Pope spoke about Psalm 61 in which "two types of trust are contrasted. They are two fundamental choices, one good and one perverse, which entail two types of moral conduct. There is above all trust in God…'God is my rock and my salvation; my fortress, I shall not be shaken'."
"There also exists," he continued, "another type of trust, of an idolatrous nature, which the psalmist focuses on with critical attention. It is a trust that moves one to seek safety and stability in violence, covetousness and riches."
John Paul II referred to "the first false god, the violence which humanity unfortunately continues to resort to even in these bloody days. Accompanying this idol is an immense procession of wars, oppression, perversions, torture and killing, inflicted without any trace of remorse."
"The second false god is robbery which is expressed in extortion, social injustice, usury, political and economic corruption. Too many people cultivate the 'illusion' of satisfying in this way their own greed. Finally, riches is the third idol to which 'man's heart attaches itself' in the false hope of being saved from death and being assured of gaining power and prestige."
The Pope indicated that "if we were conscious of our mortality and of the limits of man, we would not choose to trust in idols, nor would we organize our life on a series of fragile and inconsistent pseudo-values. We would aim rather for another type of trust, one whose center is in the Lord, source of eternity and peace."
"The Second Vatican Council applied to priests the invitation of this psalm 'to keep our heart detached from riches'. … However, this call to reject perverse trust and to choose trust that brings us to God is valid for all and must become a guiding star in our daily behaviour, moral decisions, in our choice of lifestyle."
AG/PSALM 61/… VIS 20041110 (360)
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